


gift of the mage (and the dreamer)

by ladanse



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Fluff, Ice Skating, M/M, Pynch Secret Santa 2016, honestly this is so sweet it gave me cavities guys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-11 18:44:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9002137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladanse/pseuds/ladanse
Summary: It's Christmas Eve. Adam's dorm door slams open, and boots stomp their way into his peripheral vision. "We're going ice skating," says Ronan.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [e_cat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/e_cat/gifts).



> for the prompts: ice skating, ronan and adam get each other the same gift
> 
> for @dysfunctional-college-roommates

 

 

It's Christmas Eve. Adam's dorm door slams open, and boots stomp their way into his peripheral vision. "We're going ice skating," says Ronan. He sounds pissed off; this usually means something is on his mind.

 

Adam looks up from his Latin reading. "Why," he says. He glances briefly at Ronan's tight shoulders and the violence coiled in his frame; then, he looks back at his homework, and curses Latin conjugation.

 

"Do we need a reason," says Ronan, and slams the book shut on Adam's fingers. Adam, who is hovering between annoyed and amused, begins tipping steadily towards annoyance.

 

"Where's Chainsaw?" he asks instead of starting a fight, standing, stretching out his back. He follows Ronan downstairs, where the BMW is waiting. "Also, can you actually ice skate?"

 

"How hard can it be?" asks Ronan. He hasn't answered the first question, Adam notes. He doesn't ask it again; Ronan in a mood like this usually needs to hit things, and Adam has had enough of that for several lifetimes.

 

"We can drive to the Barns instead," says Adam. He doesn't know how to ice skate; he's never been.

 

"You don't want to go," says Ronan, astute. "How hard can it be?" he says again, and against his will, Adam begins to believe him.

 

*

 

Chainsaw is waiting for them in the parking lot of the rink; at the sight of her, Ronan immediately seems to relax.

 

(Chainsaw is Ronan's raven. Adam has never actually been sure why Ronan has a raven, but he does, and she's nearly tame. Adam is also convinced that she understands human speech, and has a mischievous streak a mile wide. Then again, maybe he's starved enough for companionship that he's ascribing emotions to a _bird_.)

 

The raven caws, tilting her head upwards, and Ronan obligingly runs the tips of his fingers down the soft feathers at her neck.

 

"Here," says Ronan, abruptly, pulling a bag out of the trunk and thrusting it into Adam's hands. Adam opens it and pulls out a pair of pleasingly grey ice skates.

 

"Ronan," he begins, and Ronan gives him a smile that's somehow less sharp-edged than usual.

 

"Found them at my dad's old place, so they were free," says Ronan. "And I didn't know your shoe size, so if they don't fit, you're screwed." He pulls his own set of skates out of the trunk, slams it shut, and leads the way inside.

 

Adam pays for his own pass, and neither of them say a word about it; when he pulls on the skates, they fit almost perfectly. He mentions this to Ronan, who shrugs. "Maybe fate didn't want you to break your ankles," he offers, and pulls Adam to his feet with a sure, callused grip.

 

Chainsaw sits on Ronan's shoulder when they walk into the rink. No one really seems to notice her, not even the middle-aged employee who inspects their passes carefully before letting them in, and Adam wonders whether Chainsaw is somehow diverting their attention. She squawks at him, amused, like she knows what he's thinking. 

  
_Ronan's tattoo is hot_ , he thinks at her, deliberately. He's not sure if he means it or if he's trying to provoke a reaction; regardless, Chainsaw seems unimpressed. She does, however, adjust her feet so that Ronan's tank slips further down his shoulders, revealing more of the swirling lines of black across Ronan's shoulderblades. Adam feels his face heat, and looks away.

 

It's too much to expect that Ronan hasn't noticed. "Stealing my girl?" Ronan asks, lightly, tapping Chainsaw lightly on the bottom of the chin. Chainsaw caws, chastising, and pecks his ear, and Adam smiles at the vociferous cursing that follows.

 

Adam is not bad at skating; once he gains his balance, it doesn't seem any more dangerous than any of the other crazy things he does when he's with Ronan. Ronan is worse at it, but he refuses to take the hand Adam holds out. (They both pretend they don't know why. Adam doesn't mind - Ronan will get there eventually.)

 

Before long, they are gaining speed across the ice, and suddenly, Ronan grabs Adam's arm, spinning them and using Adam's momentum to fling him into the railing, narrowly missing a knot of girls, who giggle and scatter. Adam's feet slip out from under him, and he lands heavily on his butt, elbow throbbing from where he banged it into the ice. "Asshole," he says, and they're both grinning as Ronan helps him up. "My turn," he says, then, and taking Ronan's arms, he pulls him backwards, takes a sharp turn, and then lets go.

 

Ronan loses his balance mid-skid and windmills his arms spectacularly, falling heavily onto his side and sliding several feet before he stops. Someone blows a whistle; Adam is laughing too hard to care. Ronan struggles to his feet, ungainly, and Chainsaw chirps in amusement from where she is safely perched on a light fixture.

 

"Asshole," says Ronan in return, shoving Adam away. Then, an employee in a bright yellow vest skates up to them, and kicks them out.

 

*

 

"Worth it," says Adam, at Ronan's elbow as they traipse back to the car. Ronan hums noncommittally and nudges Chainsaw off his shoulder; she balks, digging her claws in, and he curses.

 

"I'll take her," says Adam, and coaxes Chainsaw onto his arm before slinging himself into the passenger seat. Ronan stomps in and closes the door; his bad mood from earlier has returned suddenly and in full force.

 

"What is it," asks Adam, finally, as they pull back up to the edges of campus. "You're being weird again."

 

Ronan rips his key out of the ignition, and lets it fall into the cupholder. The sudden silence is unnerving, from both Ronan and his BMW. "What?" says Adam, again.

 

Ronan sighs explosively, and reaches across Adam's lap; Adam pulls back hastily in his chair as Ronan rummages through the glovebox. Finally, he pulls out a wrapped package, and drops it into Adam's lap. "Merry Christmas," he says.

 

"It's Christmas Eve," is all Adam can say in response. He hadn't been expecting gifts.

 

"I know, asshole. But Gansey has his thing tomorrow."

 

Adam hesitates. "You wanted to give it to me in private?" When Ronan looks away, he lightens the mood. "What is it? Porn?"

 

Ronan chokes out a laugh. "Parrish," he says, faux-scandalized. Then, "Open it."

 

Adam does. The paper falls away (neatly - he's used to saving it) to reveal a snowglobe, with a flock of birds that take flight when he shakes it.

 

"Like the one in Mary Poppins," says Ronan, fidgeting. "You said you needed a paperweight. And you liked that movie."

 

(Adam remembers watching it; he and Ronan had curled up, too-close, on the couch in Ronan's dad's basement. It wasn't the movie he had liked.)

 

He chokes out half a laugh. "It's nice," he says.

 

"Just nice?" Ronan very nearly sounds angry, but Adam knows he's embarrassed, caught out.

 

"No, it's - " and Adam can't hold back a laugh, this time. "Come on," he says instead. Chainsaw, reading his mind again, takes off as he pulls himself out of the car, and settles on Ronan's shoulder as he leads him back up to his dorm.

 

Adam pulls out his own gift from his bottom drawer, wrapped in sparkling paper. "Open it," he says. Ronan tears open the package, still tense, to find -

 

A snowglobe. With birds.

 

"Parrish," says Ronan, with feeling.

 

"It's a good gift," says Adam, shrugging. "Guess we were thinking the same thing." He meets Ronan's eyes; a dare.

 

Ronan meets his gaze back, and his lips quirk upwards. "Yeah," he says. "Guess we were."

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr, taking prompts! bollywood-and-phoenix-feather.tumblr.com
> 
> come yell with me in my ask :)


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